Reflections on Artist Stephanie H. Shih

In December 2023, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) opened its first exhibition that centers Asian American art, which was co-curated by Bowdoin College faculty members Connie Y. Chiang, Professor of Environmental Studies and History; Shruti Devgan, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Belinda Kong, Professor of Asian Studies and English; Nancy Riley, A. Myrick Freeman Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology; and Shu-chin Tsui, Bowdoin Professor of Asian Studies and Cinema Studies. Without Apology: Asian American Selves, Memories, Futures brings together the work of nineteen Asian American artists that reframe racial histories, explore Asian diasporic identities, and forge new narratives. Through this exhibition, the Museum not only showcased the ingenuity and talent of Asian American artists represented by the BCMA’s holdings, but also acquired several new artworks, diversifying the Museum’s collection to be more reflective of the current student body, faculty research, and community interests.

Four recent acquisitions include Red Snapper (2023), Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar (2022), Bok Choy (2022), and Yang Jiang Preserved Beans (2022) by the Taiwanese American artist Stephanie H. Shih. Shih’s life-sized and strikingly realistic ceramic sculptures of Asian food items prompt viewers to pause in front of the display cases, evoking senses of nostalgia and home. Through crafting these life-like replicas, Shih creates monuments to the everyday and honors the diasporic kitchen. I was shocked when I went home one weekend and saw the same bottle of black vinegar as seen in the BCMA on my kitchen table. I thought of the childhood dinners I had with my mother making dumplings on Lunar New Year and dipping them into the fragrant vinegar. Making a personal connection between an artwork in the Museum and an object I associate so vividly with home made me realize the role of museums and colleges in being homes for students on campus, both intellectually as a place we learn, but also literally as the place we reside during a formative period of our lives.

The way Shih engages with art history through her practice is also impactful. In my “Global Asian Art” seminar with Associate Professor of Art History and Asian Studies Peggy Wang, we discussed the pressure artists from the “periphery” (non-Western cultures) face to create “authentic” art from their cultures, which limits artistic freedom and tokenizes these artists. By referencing the technique and concept of replication in her work, Shih confronts the expectation of creating “authentically” Taiwanese or Asian-American art head-on. Her practice subverts the stigma of “copying” by asking the question: “What does it really mean to be authentic when everything is a copy?”

On February 29, Shih visited campus and delivered a thought-provoking presentation that addressed how objects and identities transform through this process of replication. In her talk, Shih connected her practice of replicating Asian food staples in clay with the process of replication between generations of immigrant communities as they try to preserve their culture in a new country. Through copying, Shih depicts the challenges and complexities of staying true to one’s culture in a cross-cultural context and captures the impermanence and ever-evolving nature of diasporic cultures.

Shih’s visit to campus was also met with enthusiasm from the student body, who participated actively in the public presentation. I also collaborated with the Asian Students Association to host a lunch for students to connect with the artist over catered Asian food the next day. The event was very well-attended, and we had a lively discussion on a range of issues from Stephanie’s career trajectory as a ceramicist to navigating the art world as a living Asian contemporary artist.

Sabrina Kearney ’26
Student Curatoral Assistant
Bowdoin Collge Museum of Art

 

Illustration: Stephanie H. Shih, Gold Plum Chikiang Vinegar, 2022, painted ceramic. Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine. Courtesy of the artist and Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco. Photo: Robert Bredvad.